Accounting means.



J. MAHER. ACCOUNTING MEANS. APPLIUATION FILED ocmw, 1912.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

FIGA.

FIG.2.

l l l l 1 INVENTOR WITNESSES JAMES lVAHEB, OF EAST LIVERPOOL, OHIO.

ACCOUNTING MEANS.

Application led October 12, 1912.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES MAHER, a resident of East Liverpool, in the county of Columbiana and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Accounting Means, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a simple and accurate accounting meanswhich provides for visual accountability records in the hands of both merchant and customer where the accountability is on a kcredit basis. The present invention enables this accountability to be had without the necessity of the merchant keeping the ordinary books of account as now generally practised which practice involves entering lthe purchases in a day book or blotter in addition to entering them in the customers pass book, and then posting the charges in a ledger. In addition thereto itemized statements are frequently rendered the customer. Altogether much more bookkeeping and accounting is required than is warranted bythe business of the average retailer. Also, with the old system the total amount a customer owes cannot be ascertained until 'his ledger account is fully posted, and in themean time hisV purchases `may exceedy the amount of credit extended him.

The practice herein proposed obviates each and all of the objections referred to. No bookkeeping is necessary,` and the amounts of successive charges are cumulated in such manner that at the completion of each transaction the merchant knows the exact amount of credit the. customer has consumed and the stipulated maximum credit cannot be exceeded in any transaction without the merchant having knowledge of itat that time.

The means for practising the invention are fully described hereinafter, and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a book of tickets or coupons which` the merchant furnishes the customer, and Fig. 2 is a view of one of the pages of the customers book. Fig. 2*- is a view of one of the tickets or checks removed from the page shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a view showing a way in which the merchant may provide his accountability record.

In practising the invention the merchant delivers to the customer a series of checks or Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

Serial No. 725,542.

tickets Y2 bearing printed indications, as hereinafter described, whereby the status of the customers account is shown, an appropriate check being taken by the merchant following each purchase. While the customers tickets or checks may be assembled or arranged in any desirable or convenient manner, they are here shown as perforated in page 3 of book L1, with all of the pages accessible so that the desired check from any page may be gotten at and conveniently removed by the merchant. As here shown, the printing on the face of each check includes the merchants number, as A1, and a customers number, as No. 1. The merchants number or designation is of course the same on all checks issued by him, and the customers number remains the same so long as he deals with the merchant. The checks are numbered consecutively or serially as shown in Fig. 2, and each check bears a money indication different in amount from any other check. For retail stores money designations may conveniently begin on check serial No. 1 with five cents, and in-k crease in multiples of five as the serial numbers increase. Also, each check has printed thereon the Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 which may be utilized for indicating odd cents. Each of the coupon or ticket books t may contain any desired money total Vof credit checks 2, and the book may be conveniently utilized for limiting the amount of credit available to the customer. Thus,'if credit is extended not to exceed $10.00, a book will beissued which contains 200 checks which are numbered serially from 1 to 200, with check No. 1 marked for five cents, and check No. 200 for $10.00.

In practice, if a customers kinitial purchases total 40 cents the merchant removes i the perforated check or ticket 2 from page 3 on which 40 cents is indicated. Check serial number 8 is thus removed from the book, thereby making void all the checks bearing lower serial numbers. The check in-y dicating the total of the purchase is retained by the merchant, convenient means for holding the same being employed. If at they next transaction the purchase amounts to say 10 cents, the merchant refers to the last pre-y vious check taken from that customers book, i

and as in the present example he will iind previous purchases amounting yto 40 cents, he will add thereto the amount of the transaction then in hand, viz., 10 cents, making a 'y Vtotal'r'of-' cents, and he Will remove the 50 cent check from the book, bearing. serial N o.

10, thereby voiding all"thech`ecks`"of 'lower number and amount as before ezqalaineds` The merchant Will then substitute this 50 cent Y,check for the y40 cent check theretofore punching the appropriate cent indication on the 'removedcheek As afibooki offchecks-is or novalueafter thefcheckbearingthehigh# est money indication has been' i removed, a neWf' book kvvillvbefifurnisheditheecustomer, Provided of-"course 'hehas' settled'fWith the merchant for the'boollastusedforfhas made vSatisfactoryarrangementsforurthercredit.

VVhenfa' second booky is furnished thef 'checks 2-thereof are nun'iberedffserial-ly inf continual tion of the-numbers lof| the *fir'stfboolQfandfso on' With all new vbooks furnishedtheV same customers- Thus, the'rseries'numbers are"a'l. Waysa-increasing-l and?makingA void@ unused cheoksfollovverf nmnbersga'sothat' it is `imf possible 'for thefcustomerftofmake use'of' any .checks thatmayl have-"1remainfeohV in' anu eX"-l h-au-stedbook. A Y

,Thel checks 29 may bev/variously utilized xrin keeping;y tra-cleV o the? customer-s accounti 'llh'us,-fv ifi a@ customerls credit 1 is limited t'o $10.00,? -anol hey has been' 1 furnished f a $10.00 bool, and after? thatfbb'ok isf eXhaustedrhel is ablefto 'pa/y"l only: $8.00 ofV thef$10100 then owing-the merchant-the merchantcanvissue tohiin another $10.OO'fliio-oli` and remove from the-new book- -the $2i00 check, thus'ta-ling. the

balance due onflthefol'dy book out'fof the new Y boolrfbefore-Fany purchases" areY actually made on the-new book, and hencefiio 2further"meme' orandum need *be-kept' ofthe*v unpaid balance: 'llhe 2 cus'toiriery knows at' alltimes' the exact amount ovving ,thednerchantg asfind'icatedby the last fcheckfremoved, and' the clieold cleliveredbytlre-customent thewmercharft is effect a frecei-pt--for the goods-purchased: Asall -f the l('rl1e' :ls@loearfthe` cust'omers nunr ber" thevfarelnot transferable? and'henc'eare of; nm'fal-uey to any one-excepting that par@ ticular customer. If the improvedmeaiissis used by? several merchants? in l they samev locality, 1, orA if the same customer.' Ais'dealing. with di life-rent v'merchants' using-the :improved system,- .confusiony cannot result? asthe mer:

` chants-numberappearing on each ycheck Will atlon'ce show* to:- which st'ore thefchecks* bev longr Y It is desirable-that the merchant shall .be

- providedl With-convenientnmeansfor having ready acoessft'o the checlrlast' takenfup from each and: every customer, and -forthis pur: pose a'pocket-like holder 5 may be vprovided hav-ing* jonfits outer face a 'spningclip 6 vvhiohfjbears the' customes: number f The holder have: a= properlyedesignated? clip `for eac-h eustomen When anl account' is opened,= va slip 7x* bearing;V thecustomers-y stanoe,-. the date ,When the account Was opened, the dates when books or checks were Y, l I deliveredk to the customer, etc. Each checli held; 'desyigthe"latten 1f the amounts Y involve odd cents, theymay beindicatedby,

taken from a customer is placed beneath its appropriate-l" clipy the last previous check taken from the same customery being thereby voided, and being of no use or value may be destroye'da ByViv this means ax l ticket f or oheclrj foreach"y charge;'oustomt-:r,'i shlowing the exaot'famountthe'fcustom videdifinf the individual fclips, andf `vbookkeepL ing and the-tedious postinaoffaccounts;v all Ways burdensomefo'r retail entirely dispensed ewith',

that? thev ticketsfor 2"salleschecks fbec'oine of value only- Whenf detached the det-aching of a checkac'ti'ngto provide( al visible 'indication' of bilflsf pjayable'4 accountability to the* cus; tom'erl (th'rougli?"v theV absence off the; check from" itsf position) and bills receivable' ac` countabili'ty'to the I'nfejrchant (th-roughihis possession ofth'er check), thus-causng the check tol' servethepurpo'se; of double'accoun'tly ing: This a'ctionfis -brought"aboutvv through tnuty of; thefregmlfar 'pregressienprovdes the visible? indication* of' the bi'll'sM payable amount Without?-aieot'in'gT the*` remaining checks; the presence of t eV latter* actin-g to indicate' the particular" selection.; Additiom ally, theseleetionofa Check? 'renders 'preced# er ovv-es will' bepro'- fstor'ekeepera-fis' portance to the merchant undertheinvfen- A tonf` hereindise'lsed.-

rthisrespect, the fractional indications are 1 offvalue, Vthe absence of?V a lcheck indicatingbills'f payable Aac co'un-tfahilityfof 'the'totalfof that check amount indication', but the punched fractionalindil cationf cheekfis 1 ofi'. lessz vfall'le4 and l intermediate the amount indications* of theA4 punched cheek and the prior check of the progressi'veseries;A

By this?" arrangement;thef-mut1atenf of` a Ycheclrzby: punching Aacts I te deer"ease`A aecount indiciatingf that@ the bill'sreceivable' ability, thus protecting the customer, but since the punching is in the hands of the merchant, he in turn is protected.

It will be understood that the invention is not confined to arranging the checks 2 in book form or in perforated outlines in sheets, and it is also obvious that the invention is not restricted to the means here shown for enabling the merchant to hold or retain the checks received from the customers.

I claim l. In a sales check system, a plurality of individually-detachable sales checks having common merchant and customer designations, each check also having an amount indication individual to itself, the several amount indications increasing in a definite progression, the designations of a check providing a merchant bills receivable accountability when detached, and the absence of the check in the regular sequence of checks indicating a customer bills payable accountability.

2. In a sales check system, a plurality of individually-detachable sales checks having common merchant and customer designations, each check also having an amount indication individual to itself, the several amount indications increasing in a definite progression, the designations of a check providing a merchants bills receivable accountability when detached, and the absence of the check in the regular sequence of checks indicating a customer bills payable accountability, the detaching of a succeeding check increasing the accountability by the difference between the amount indications of the two checks.

3. In a sales check system a plurality of individually-detachable sales checks having common merchant and customer designations, each check also having an amount indication individual to itself, the several amount indications increasing in a definite progression, said checks being chargeable as bills receivable only when detached, the chargeable amount being limited to that carried by the detached check of highest amount indication, said lattery check providing a visual indication of the totality of bills payable charge against the customer.

of a selected check from the element and leave the remaining checks intact, said removed check forming a visible bills receivable indication in the hands of the merchant, and its absence in the check sequence indicating the sales amount chargeable against the customer.

5. A sales check system element comprising a plurality of individually-detachable sales checks having common merchant and customer designations, each check also having an amount indication individual to itself, said checks being serially numbered, the several amount indications increasing in a definite progression in correspondence with numbering, the removal of a selectedY check providing a bills payable accountability of the amount indicated by check to the customer through the absence of the check from the series and a bills-receivable accountability of similar amount to the merchant through his possession of the check.

6. A sales check system element comprising a plurality of individually-detachable sales checks having common merchant and customer designations, each check also having an amount indication individual to itself, the several amount indications increasing in a definite progression, a removal of a selected check providing a visible bills receivable accountability to the merchant, each check having in addition fractional indications common in all of the checks, said latter indications being selectively punchable to decrease the accountability.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES MAHER.

I/Vitnesses THOMAS TERRY, GEORGE WURZEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

